Prospecting without buying lists

Someone offers you a list of ten thousand contacts for very little. Do not buy it. Purchased lists are three problems in one: a legal violation, damage to your domain and number reputation, and a close rate near zero because nobody on that list asked for anything.

Where a good list comes from

1) From your current customers. The closest prospect is whoever resembles your best customers. Take your top ten and write what they share: sector, size, which function bought, which problem you solved. That page is worth more than any list.

2) From referrals. Ask after every successful delivery: "Who do you know with the problem you had before us?" They close faster and at a higher rate than any other source.

3) From public sources. Commercial registries, published tenders, and job ads (an organization hiring a digital-transformation lead is telling you what it plans to do).

4) From your content. Someone who read your article about their problem, or attended a short session, knows who you are before you call.

Qualify before you call

Five questions to answer before calling, from public sources:

1. Is their size within the range you serve?
2. Do they have the role or department your product serves?
3. Is there a timing signal (expansion, tender, hiring, funding)?
4. Do you know the name of the problem owner, not just the organization?
5. Do you have a reason to reach out that is about them, not "we would like to present our services"?

Anyone who fails those five does not deserve a call today.

One measure

Do not count calls. Measure how many of every ten you contacted accepted a meeting. Below one in ten, the problem is the list, not the rep.